President's Message

may 2021 

The Power of Clinician Advocacy, ACC.21 Scientific Sessions, Council Elections, CV Team engagement, Dr Ouyang wins March Madness

“Not About Us Without Us”

Hello Maryland ACC Colleagues,

April was a month of great success for the Chapter Advocacy. For those of you who missed the ACC Maryland Advocacy Update- Governor Hogan signed a bill into law in April that requires private insurers, Medicare and Medicaid to continue payments for telehealth post-pandemic. Most importantly this law now mandates payment for audio-only telehealth. For our elderly patients who do not have the technology or the skills for Zoom and for those who are unable to make their appointment due to transportation issues, or for a subset patients i.e., post-partum women with hypertension, patients with lipid disorders etc., this is a big win!

Telehealth Advocacy:  Our success as advocates is a direct result of our Maryland ACC Council Advocacy Committee led by Jeremy Pollock MD, FACC, Committee Chair and Michael Silverman, MD, FACC, and supported by many Council members under the stewardship of Joe Marine MD, FACC. These members worked tirelessly and engaged with the Maryland State Medical Society- MedChi and ACC State Government Affairs Director Frank Ryan, to advocate for our patients at the Maryland General Assembly. Many MDACC members responded to Advocacy Alerts to contact their legislators. This was truly a team effort and big win for our State Chapter and highlights the power of clinician advocacy. Clinicians always know the best for their patients. As the famous slogan goes (slightly modified to fit the current scenario) “Not About Us and Our Patients, Without Us!”

Council Elections:  We are grateful for all the enthusiastic submissions. Thank you for considering volunteering. Victories like above are the reason why you should consider supporting the Chapter and its grassroots efforts. We will be making the announcements for the election soon.

ACC.21 Scientific Sessions:  The American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session & Expo is now an ALL VIRTUAL. Experience streaming live May 15 – 17, 2021, with “On Demand” access. Due to the continued spread of COVID-19 and travel restrictions, the decision has had to be made to transition the meeting from a hybrid model to entirely virtual. But it promises to be a great educational experience. For more information on registration, please click here. The Chapter will support the registration of first 6 FITs who respond to this call. If you haven’t registered and want MD Chapter to help out please email Jennifer Ray Beckman (jennifer@marylandacc.org).

March Madness: The winner is Dr Pamela Ouyang MD who beat out everyone (by a lot) with the maximum activity-steps, running, jogging etc., accrued in the month of March. Dr Ouyang continues to inspire!

CV Team Corner:  Each month, we will be highlighting important activities, webinars, lectures and networking for our team members. Angela Street CRNP, MSN put together a very successful Pillars of Cardiology Webinar Series that was extremely educational, well received and covered a variety of talks by very engaging speakers and educators.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Garima Sharma, MD, FACC

President, Maryland Chapter ACC